Gripper-finger



E. L. MEGILL.

GRIPPER FINGER.

APPLICATIOE FILED MAY 6,1920.

1,400,303, Patented D00. 13, 1921.

PATENT QFFICE.

nnwnnn L. nnqnn, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

QBIPPEB-EDIGER.

Specification of Letters rateiit.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Application filed MAY 1920. Serial No. 379,24 8.

To all whom it may concern:

e i n wn ha I, EDWARD Mnelnn, citizen of he United Sta es, residing a ew ork in the county of New York and State of ew York, ha e" invented certain e an usefu'l'hnprovem Grippe Fingers, of h g-.1! e newe is a see The pres nt invention i an improvement in "g pp e s signed. with the objects a; view gr enabling the engagement of the fingero er the'press gripper substantiall at any pQint in the length thereof and t e holdingof the finger at any desired point on the gripper. 7

Other objects have been to secure the; finger to the gripper in such a way that it will be biased toward the platen and hence will firmly hold the aper and further to provide a simple and practical hold back e P e e i t e P P n ll 'win the fin er as it recedes, 'v v l i he invention involves a number of novel features of construction, combinations and arrangements of v I in the course of t e following specification,

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification I have. illustrated the invention embodied in a practical commercial form,"bu t wish 'it understood that modifications may be made without parture from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing referred to, Figure l is a front or face View of the gripper finger;

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are, respectively, end, edge and perspective views ot the $3 1 19;

Fig. 5 is a broken detail view oft'he upper side of the gripper finger as applied and position on the press ripper; Figs. 6 and 7 are e e'views illustrating the application of the 'nger to the gripper, the gripper appearing in section in both instances.

The finger which is desi nated 10 maybe of any desired length an width and the same 1s rovided at the end where it is sup: ported with a widened or enlarged base portion 11, which is provided with or carries, the means for attaching the finger 10 to the gripper 17 This base carries at the Outer d he f en ang P oje i lug 12 and at the'inner end thereoflat o Pbsit de of he oo at h ing r t .e

arts, as will disclosed abutments 13 and 14. The abutment 12 is shown as provided with an angularly bent flange 15 at its upper or outward edge and, s m larly, the abutments 13 and let are shown as overturned at their outer terminals at 16, the latter forming short hooks for en e s mee 1 9 ed e of the press pper 17 endthe former providing a housing for e e ies whleh n a s the opp e ge. of, ress gripper. A special feature of these afutinents', which in use stand at 0ppos te' edges of the press gripper, is that they, including their hooked extremities, are spaced apart in the direction of the length of the finger a distance at least equal to and preferably somewhat greater than the width of the press gripper-see particularly Figs. 5and 7-so as to enable the engagement of the same fiatwise over the gripper substantially at any point in the length thereof.

l8 designates a bowed spring which is Secured intermediate its ends beneath the overstanding flange 15 of the abutment 12 by means of an outwardly struck looped portion 19 formed in the back of the spring, the looped portion being engaged in an opening 20 in the upstanding side portion of the abutment and held therein by a part 21 of the flange indicated in Figs. 1 and 4 as depressed into the open side'of said loop. This construction serves to securely anchor the spring without weakening the same and without interfering with its freedom of action.

The free ends of the bow spring project away from the supporting abutment and toward the cooperating abutments 13 and 14;, and his shown as provided at one end thereof with an angularly inturned pawl 22 for holding engagement with the edge of the gripper, which may be toothed or notched, while the other end of the bow spring is formed as a slide or shoe or skid 22..

The free end of the finger 10 is maintained parallel to the press gripper by providing the spring 18 at one or both ends with angularly projecting lugs 23 inclined toward the base 11 (Fig. 3), and overstanding or overlapping the face of the gripper, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, so as to exert a twistin efiect which will tend to hold the base 1 a ainst the flat side of the press gripper. his effect is obtained in the construction illustrated by simply twisting or canting the free ends of the bow spring, as indicated at 24 in Fig. 1.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of what I call the finger spring, designated 25 and shown as consisting of a flat strip of spring metal having one end secured above and at the root end of the finger at 26 and projecting 011 an upward incline or curve longitudinally toward the free end of the finger. During the printing operation the furniture in the chase, indi' cated at 27, will come into contact with the free end of spring 25, immediately before the impression, the leverage of the spring lifting the median portion of the finger 10, at 26, and of course causing the free'end of the finger 10 to move downwardly, thereby to hold the sheet firmly on the platen even before the impression. And, because of this same leverage, as the furniture moves away from the platen the end of the finger 1 O continues to hold the sheet down firmly until spring 25 is completely disengaged from the furniture.

One of the principal advantages of the invention is that the gripper finger can be snapped into place over the'pr'ess gripper at any desired point in the length thereof, without manipulating any slides or thelike and without the necessity for sliding the same endwise over the end of the gripper as has been the common practice heretofore. The gripper finger is particularly light, and relatively inexpensive and is engaged on the gripper with a force which tends to hold it firmly thereon under all conditions.

I claim 1. The combination with a press gripper, of a gripper finger having a unitary base provided with stationary angularly projecting abutments spaced in the direction of the length of the finger a distance at least equal to the width of the gripper to therebyenable engagement of the same flatwise over the gripper substantially atany point in the length thereof and a bowed spring supported by one of the abutments and projecting beyond said abutment toward the other abutment to yieldingly engage the edge of the gripper.

2. The combination with a press gripper, of a gripper finger having a unitary base provided with stationary angularly project ing abutments spaced in the direction of the length of the finger a distance at least equal to the width of the gripper to thereby enable engagement of the same fiatwise" over the gripper substantially at any point in the length thereof and a bowed spring supported by one of the abutments and projecting beyond said abutment'toward the other abutment to yieldingly engage the edge of the gripper, said spring having at one end thereof an inwardly turned holding pawl.

8. The combination with a press gripper, of a gripper finger having a base provided with angularly projecting abutments spaced in the direction of the length of the finger a distance at least equal to the width of the gripper to thereby enable engagement of the same-fiatwise over the gripper substantially at any point in the length thereof, a bowed spring supported by one of the abutments and projecting beyond said abutment toward the other abutment to yieldingiy engage the edgeo'f-the gripper and a finger-tensioning lug projecting angularly from the edge of spring nan incline toward the base to en gage the flat side of the press gripper.

4. The combination with a'press gripper, of a gripper'finger having a unitary base provided with stationary angularly projecting abutments at the root of the finger and at opposite'sides thereof and with a stationary abutment at'the' farther side of said base from said first two abutments, said abutment on the farther side being spaced from the first two abutments in the direction of the its free ends projecting away from said abutment toward the first-mentioned abutments.

5. The combination with a press gripper, of a gripper finger having a base provided with angularly project-ingabutments at the root of the finger and atopposite sides thereof and with an abutment at the farther side of said base from said firsttwo abutments, said abutment on the farther side being spaced fromthe first two abutments in the direction of the length of the finger a distance at least equal to the width of the gripper, and a bowed spring having its central portionseeured to the single abutment and its free ends projecting away from said abutment toward the first-mentioned abutments, said spring having-a loop deflected from the main body of the spring and the abutment for said spring having a pocket receiving said loop, the material of the abutment at; the open side of'the loop being deflectedinto' the loop to thereby secure the spr ng to the abutment. 7 v

6. A gripper finger having a base portion engageable over a press gripper and providedwith a flat spring having oneend secured to the median portion of the finger at the upperaside thereof and its free end inclined'upwardlyaway from the free end of thefinger substantially as and for the purthe abutment being indented into said loop to thereby secure the spring to the abutment.

8. A device as described in claim 3, in which the ends of the bowed spring are twisted toward the base.

9. A gripper finger having a base portion engageabie over the side of a press gripper and a bowed spring carried by said base portion, said spring being supported at its cen- 10 tral portion and arranged to engage with the edge of the press gripper at its free ends, angularly projecting lugs on the free ends of the spring and said free ends being twisted to incline said lugs toward the base re- 15 ferred to.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si nature.

EDWARD L. MEILL. 

